The Nest Review: Puffed-up Empty Drama

The Nest looks like a horror movie, but it’s actually just a boring domestic drama about a father who lies to this family.

Early on we find out that the family has relocated a number of times because of the father. And it’s clear that Rory is an ambitious man who wouldn’t hesitate to plunk their savings into an expensive lifestyle. He spends it on his family at least (he sends his kids to expensive schools, builds a stable, and gives his wife an expensive fur coat), who are unaware of what’s really happening.

Writer-director Sean Durkin stacks up a series of unpleasant things happening to unpleasant people. The period setting and cinematography make it look like a horror movie, but it isn’t.

Rory (Jude Law) is a sweet-talking get-rich-quick schemer. Allison (Carrie Coon) puts up with it, as you do in a marriage, and has a stack of hidden cash just in case.

The main characters have discernible enough motivations but the stakes aren’t high enough. Jude Law and Carrie Coon turn in solid performances for a lackluster script.

The suspense is how low and how big Rory blows up until his wife finds out. His downward spiral isn’t as bad or as desperate as Jude Law’s performance makes it. Allison already knows he ain’t shit, so the family being broke isn’t a surprise. She’s just waiting for him to realize that this is another failed attempt to appease his ego.

Meanwhile, the kids try to navigate their newly elevated status because of their posh home. Their experience reflects that of their parents. The daughter (Oona Roche) is able to buy attention through a house party but later wakes up to an empty trashed house and spray paint on the wall mocking her family. The youngest (Charlie Shotwell) hides away from the commotion.

There is some supernatural stuff here involving a horse and the ugly house to add mystery. But they’re just unconvincing fillers.

The movie ends at a grinding halt – a tired housewife, a hungover teenager, and a distressed boy share breakfast as their selfish jerk of a father come home crying over two botched deals.

The Nest is about a family imploding but it isn’t worth caring about.